Legendary VC Firm Kleiner Perkins Has Been Sued For Discrimination

Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, a
major Silicon Valley VC firm with investments that include
Zynga and Groupon, is being sued by one of its investment
partners, Ellen Pao.

It's a bombshell lawsuit filled with many damaging claims.

The nut of the lawsuit is this:

"KPCB discriminates against [Ellen Pao] and other women by
failing to promote them comparably to men, by compensating them
less than men through lower salary, bonus and carried interest,
by restricting the number of investments that women are allowed
to make as compared to men, by failing to include junior women
from meetings and discussions, by failing to provide equivalent
sponsorship of women as of men, by failing to include junior
women comparably to junior men in the interview process, and by
failing to provide opportunities for visibility and success
inside and outside the firm for women as compared to men."

In response to the suit, Kleiner issued the following statement,
"Following a thorough independent investigation of the facts, the
firm believes the lawsuit is without merit and intends to
vigorously defend the matter."

Here are some of the biggest claims from the lawsuit:

Pao alleges that former partner, Ajit Nazre, made
"inappropriate sexual approaches" during a trip to Germany in
2006. She "rebuffed his advances." As a result, he was "brusque"
and "distant".

Nazre allegedly continued to press her on a sexual
relationship, and "falsely told her that his wife had left him,"
according to the suit. When she refused his advances, he
allegedly, "engaged in offensive, obstructionist and difficult
behavior."

However, "eventually succumbed to Mr. Nzare's insistence on
sexual relations on two or three occasions." When she stopped the
relationship, he "engaged in retaliation," says the suit.

She claims her reaction to his unwanted advances and her
gender caused her to be passed over for promotions.

Pao's lawsuit says Randy Komisar, a Senior Partner, told
her that "the personalities of women do not lead to success at
KPCB, because women are quiet."

Komisar was also allegedly given the board seat at one of the
companies Pao worked with. According to the suit, KPCB partner
John Doerr told her she deserved the
seat, but Komisar "needed a win," so he got it.

In addition, Pao alleges that females in the firms were often
left out of dinner meetings held by male counterparts. She says
women weren't invited because they would "kill the buzz."

John Doerr, Bing Gordon, Ray Lane, Chi-Hua Chien and Ted
Schlein are all named in the suit.

In response to a discrimination complaint filed in the Superior
Court of San Francisco by Ellen Pao, Christina Lee, a Kleiner
Perkins spokesperson, stated the Firm regrets that the situation
is being litigated publicly and had hoped the two parties could
have reached resolution, particularly given Pao's 7-year history
with the firm. Following a thorough independent investigation of
the facts, the firm believes the lawsuit is without merit and
intends to vigorously defend the matter. The Firm has been a
diversity pioneer in its industry and was one of the first
venture capital firms to hire women as partners. The number of
women partners at the firm is one of the highest within the
venture capital arena and the firm has actively supported women
in all respects.